Albion College - Albionian Yearbook (Albion, MI)

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LOCATION Albion is a thriving city of 6,000 inhabitants, situated in the central portion of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. The postal, telegraph and telephone facilities are equal to those of the larger cities in the state. Albion is on the main line of the Michigan Central Railroad, 95 miles west of Detroit. The Lansing division of the Lake Shore Michigan Southern crosses the Michigan Central at this place, providing direct connection with the main line of the Lake Shore on the south, and at the north with the Grand Rapids division of the Michigan Central, the Pere Marquette, the Grand Trunk, and other lines. The main line of the Michigan United Railways passes through Albion, giving hourly connections with points east and west. GROUNDS AND BUILDINGS The college campus contains eighteen acres. The old Central Building, 40 by 100 feet, through the generosity of George O. Robinson, LL. D., of Detroit, has been thoroughly renovated and enlarged so that it is in every respect an up-to-date building and now bears the name Robinson Hall. The entire interior of the old building has been reconstructed and an addition four stories in height has been built on the east side of the old building. This addition is 45 by 60 feet and is devoted to the Biological and Botanical Laboratories, together with work rooms and store rooms. The north building, situated just north of the foregoing, is 80 feet long, 50 feet wide and three stories in height. It contains four lecture rooms, quarters for the Commercial School, the Art Studio and two Literary Societies. The Chapel Building stands directly south of the Central Building, and is three stories high, 80 feet long and 50 fee t wide. The second and third stories are wholly devoted to chapel purposes. The first story is devoted to the work of the Conservatory of Music and the Secretary ' s Office. The Astronomical Observatory, erected in 1883, is two

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HISTORY In th« year 1833, Rev. Henry Colclazer, Rev. Elijak H. Pilcher and Benjamin H. Packard, M. D., resolved to inaugurate a move- ment for the establishment of an academy of higher learning in Michigan. Spring Arbor was chosen as a location, and in the spring of 1835 the Legislature granted a charter under the corporate name of Spring Arbor Academy, locating the institution on the site of an old Indian village, in the town of Spring Arbor. In the spring of 1839 the charter was amended, locating the school at Albion and reconstructing the Board of Trustees. In November of 1843, the first building was completed and opened for the reception of students. Rev. Charles F. Stockwell, A. M., a graduate of Middletown University, was appointed prin- cipal. In 1849, the charter was amended by the creation of a Female College, so that the corporate name became Wesleyan Seminary and Female Collegiate Institute. The institution was empowered to grant decrees to women only. In 1861, the original charter was still further amended, author- izing the institution to confer degrees on both men and women, the corporate name becoming Albion College. In 1907, the charter was amended giving the institution en- larged powers. The management of the institution is vested in a Board of Trustees, consisting of sixteen persons, six elected by the Detroit Conference of the Methodist Episcopal church, six by the Michigan Conference, and four by the Society of Alumni. The President of the College is associated as a member ex-officio. A special board or committee, as custodian of the Endowment Fund, was created by act of the Legislature in 1865.

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12 ALBION COLLEGE stories high, with a round tower which rises to three stories and is surmounted by a dome. On the lower floor are the lecture rooms of the departments of Astronomy and Mathematics and the pier- room, through which pass the brick supports for the fixed instru- ments. On the second floor are the transit room, containing the Transit Circle, Clock and Chronograph, a computing room, a room for portable instruments, and a room containing the Astronomical and Meteorological Library. In the round tower is placed the Equatorial. The Gymnasium was completed in 1892. The first story is of field stone; above this the building consists of a heavy frame inclosed with brick. The building has a frontage of 54 feet, and is 92 feet in depth, surmounted with a gothic roof to provide suffi- cient height. The McMillan Chemical Laboratory was erected in 1893, the gift of Hon. James McMillan, of Detroit. It is a substantial and modern building, three stories in height above the basement. It is occupied by the departments of Chemistry and Physics. The Lottie L. Gassette Memorial Library is a building of classic design, occupying a central position on the campus. It is 45 by 90 feet. It was given by the late Mrs. Charlotte T. Gassette, of Albion, in memory of her deceased daughter. Four Fraternity Halls have been erected on the east portion of the college grounds, the institution having granted leases of sites for a period of years. The Winter-Lau Athletic Field, of twelve acres, less than two blocks from the College, presents one of the best equipped athletic fields in the West.